Sins of the Past
by Haseo The Terror of Death
Summary: Have you ever wanted to know where Sin came from? Where he teleported from to assist Dream against Boneripper? Now you can. Learn about Sin's past in this spinoff of The Sphere of Varrock. Complete!
1. Chapter 1

He threw the last of his supplies into his worn, leather bag. Packed full of money, clothes, first aid, and various items, Sin didn't have any extra room. He'd been waiting for this day since his 18th birthday and finally it was here, the moment where he truly became a man!

His name was Sin Temuji, an inhabitant of Mandar, a territory of Gielinor. Mandar had become a territory during the Third Age and had failed to make much progress after hundreds of years. The region was technologically and scientifically behind that of the rest of Gielinor.

Its backwater nature aside, Mandar was a beautiful island to live on. Several beaches were open to anyone who needed sand, surf, and sun. Sin usually added babes to the end of that motto.

He took one last look at his room, with its cobalt blue walls and sandpaper flooring. Sin couldn't believe he'd lived in this tiny room for 18 years.

He was finally departing from the monastery he had been forced to live in after his father had abandoned him years ago. It had been on his fourth birthday when his father had stolen him away in the middle of the night to Mandar. Sin had questioned where they were going the entire horse ride to the shore, then boat ride to the island. His father had said absolutely nothing.

Sin's father justified leaving his only son on an island of monks by declaring that the experience would make a man out of him, and upon becoming a man, he could return to his rightful place beside him.

A scowl had unknowingly crossed his face; it happened every time he thought about his father.

He harbored unresolved and bitter feelings towards his father, Rorin. What father purposely leaves his son to rot on an island of monks? Sin had asked himself that question for years. Rorin had never even visited over the 14 years Sin had been on Mandar; his father had completely abandoned his only son.

As a kid, that was a hard lesson to learn: your father was a monster who has abandoned you, and there was nothing you could do about it. Naturally, he had replaced his father with the monk Geshu. The monk ran the monastery, and was also in charge of Sin's upraising.

Sin had had many fond memories with Geshu. Learning how to ride horseback, canoeing, sword fighting, fishing, hunting, and many other skills useful to learn in this world.

If the 18-year-old did not regret one thing, it was being raised by Geshu.

The tolling of a bell reminded Sin that it was nearly time to depart. The ferry was waiting for him, and it would not wait forever. As a birthday present from the monks, they had paid for his ticket to the mainland. They wouldn't be seeing him again, for it was his time to return to his father's right hand.

Sin's hand rested on the present Geshu had given him the night before: a sword.

Its hilt was made of metal, and was simply adorned, for the monks believed that over adornment was a great sin. The blade was silver and had been forged in the monastery's kiln.

Geshu had reminded him that a blade was not a weapon, but an extension of oneself. A blade needed to be treated and cared for as such. Sin had been taught never to value violence, but peace and inner tranquility.

Sin gathered his bag and strolled out to the gardens. The monks had gardens everywhere, but the one in front of the monastery was the most beautiful and extravagant. One would need to walk through it to reach the shores of Mandar, and subsequently reach the ferry.

He'd just reached the garden, when all the monks appeared from within the monastery. Side by side, in their dark brown robes, they looked like a long, brown wall. Geshu and a few of the elder monks stepped forward, meeting Sin halfway.

Geshu grabbed Sin's hands with both of his, tears flowing down his face. "The monks of Mandar will miss you, dear boy."

"As will I miss the monks, Geshu," Sin replied formally.

Geshu threw formality aside and threw his arms around Sin, bringing him into a giant, heartfelt hug, which Sin returned earnestly.

They broke away after a short time. Geshu and the elder monks shook the young man's hand, and wished him good luck in his travels. Refusing to cry, Sin turned his back on the only family he had ever knew, and headed for the dock.

A few short minutes later, Sin reached the only dock on the island. A small ferry was waiting beside the gangplank. Sin gathered his resolve and boarded.

The ferry departed, for it had no other passengers. What person, after all, would willingly come to an island of monks?

Sin passed his time playing chess with the ferry captain's first mate. It would be nearly half an hour before they reached the mainland; it seemed like a lifetime away to Sin.

What would his father say upon his return? Would he welcome his son with open arms and a tearful apology for abandoning him all those years ago? Or would he turn his son away, and say he never knew him?

These questions and more tossed and turned in Sin's mind, as he won every game of chess. The game of chess was a popular pastime for the Mandarin monks. When one found themselves following a vow of silence, chess could easily past the hours away. The monks weren't as strict as other monks were; hours of silence only occurred, at best, three times a week.

As a child, he had found it quite arduous to remain deliberately taciturn for long periods, and Sin had been castigated more than a few times. He had the habit of frightening the older monks, and on some occasions even replacing their pudding with mud. In due course Sin learned by trial and error, and became a model child-monk.

By his tenth birthday, the monks found him old enough to begin his training. This training is what really set the monks of Mandar apart from those on the mainland.

The monks followed the teachings of the deity Mandarin, which taught that though one should restrain from violence, sex, anger, lies, and worldly possessions and evil, you should also be prepared for tests from the gods. These tests had many forms: someone wishing to pick a fight, a beautiful and 'virgin' maiden, a lost bag of gold, or the stubbing of ones' toe.

There were two primary reasons, however, to why the Mandarin monks hid themselves from the public eye. Firstly, their deity commanded them thus. Secondly, in the eye of the common man, Mandarin did not exist and to believe as such was blasphemy to the other gods.

Sin had learned this the hard way. One day his curiosity got the better of him, and he rode the ferry to the mainland, in order to observe and take in the culture of his mainland brothers-his homeland. It wasn't long until a local gang of miscreants recognized his Mandar robes. Following him for several hours, they'd cast stones and called him vulgar names, until finally he turned to confront them.

This was Sin's second mistake in coming to the mainland: the locals did not take kindly to child-monks talking back. Sin had returned to the monastery covered in bruises and two black eyes.

He never went back to the mainland after his beating.

His opponent, first mate Simon, was losing badly. Most of his pawns had been captured, and he was currently in check. This meant that Sin was closer to winning. The first mate's eyes constantly casting about, was another clue to Sin's eventual win.

Sin motioned for his foe to make a move, yet he himself never showed an ounce of the impatience his adversary had shown during Sin's turns.

He watched the first mate like a hawk watched a mouse-carefully and with great persistence.

His adversary took a long, deep breath, and moved his bishop two spaces. An imaginary clock ticked as the passage of time grew longer, for neither Sin nor the first mate had moved. Simon's breathing had become irregular. Had he just sealed his king's fate?

Sin, on the other hand, was the picture of nerves. He neither blinked out of turn nor breathed. His steady hand hovered over his own bishop, as if to encourage certainty in his opponent, when he knew with utter sureness that he had won this chess match.

Picking his bishop up, he placed it along the king at a 100-degree angle.

His face drew level with Simon's face. His lips began to form the words that sent chills down the first mate's spine. "Checkmate, my friend."

Simon let out an exasperated sigh. "Alas, it would very much seem that you've bested me at my own game!"

Chuckling merrily, Sin shook his head. "No, Simon, it was never your game to begin with."

Sin's companion stood and motioned to shake his hand; Sin accepted it firmly. They had had a splendid match, Sin thought. The monks at the monastery he'd left, were only a challenge for a short duration. The young man loved an opportunity to match his wits evenly with another.

Simon made as if to sit down and inquired of Sin, "Care for another game?"

This was not to be, however, for the ferry's captain shouted to them shortly that the mainland was not but a few minutes away. Sin sadly withdrew to his quarters and collected his belongings.

Living with monks, Sin did not own many things. The few items he did have were those he had brought with him on his exodus all those years ago. A blanket; a sackcloth man filled with straw, now looking very thin; a toothbrush; some coin; a book titled, "Journey of Captain Khan"; and some extra clothes were all he had to his name.

It wasn't like he actually cared whether the valuables he did have were great in quantity; Sin Temuji was a simple monk.

Over on the horizon was Port Sarim, home to hundreds of fisherman and the greatest pub this side of the ocean. It was the very same place he had visited many years ago. The exact place where he'd been set upon by vandals.

That was a lifetime ago, though, and Sin knew that it was impossible that anyone should remember him.

As the ferry neared the docks, more of Sarim was discernable. A great many fishing boats were moored signaling that a storm must be brewing deep at sea. No fisherman dared sail under such hostile conditions.

But as far as Sin could tell, there wasn't a single cloud in the sky nor on the horizon.

He smelled trouble.

The captain approached him when the ferry had safely docked. "This be where we part ways, m' boy. I hope ya'll find Port Sarim to be a fine place."

Sin assured the captain that he would, and departed. As soon as his leather boots scraped the harbor's bricks, the ferry pulled up and sailed away.

Normally Sin would be apt to ponder over such a hasty exit, but his excitement got the better of him, and he made his way to the closet tavern for information.

McGayver was the tavern's name, and Sin could tell it was a seedy place, if not for the name, then for its rundown exterior. Stepping into the bar, he found this to be true for the interior.

Four tables lined the wall closest to him and the door. Sin counted at least ten men and women using these tables. Another four were sitting on the barstools, though only four out of six were there. A smoky haze that engulfed everything, however, obscured anything too far away. A bald man with a scar running down his left eyelid, who ran the bar, stole a glance at who had came through the door, then returned to his business.

A few of the patrons gave him a once-over, then, too, returned to their individual conversations. For this, Sin was glad; he didn't have a desire to be noticed.

The bald man at the bar looked up as Sin approached. He wiped a dirty rag across a grimy glass and spoke in a gravelly voice, "What'll you have, stranger?"

Sin answered simply, "Information."

The bartender glowered. "Depends on what type," he responded icily.

"I'm looking for someone."

"Yeah, who?"

"Rorin Tamuji."

For a moment, the man froze, but he quickly continued wiping glasses. "And what would you do a dumb thing like that for?"

This time it was Sin's turn to glower. "Can you help me or not?"

The bartender glanced around furtively, then when he was sure no one was looking their way, leaned in and whispered, "Go to this address. Midnight. Ask for Devyn. Don't be late."

When the man had resumed his previous actions, Sin stole a glance at the bar. A slip of paper with an address was scribbled onto it in sloppy cursive: 104 Main St.

The words "Ask for Devyn" were scrawled below the address.

Sin placed a silver piece on the bar, and left.

Next order of business was finding a place for the night. It wasn't too difficult to find an inn in the sprawling port city, but finding a decent one was a different question.

A few inns later, Sin was checking his bag into the Daylight Inn. He'd been assigned room 6. Opening the door, he softly threw his bag onto the bed. This caused a flurry of dust to erupt into the air.

Apparently the inn wasn't as clean as Sin had first thought. He locked the door, placed the key in his back pocket, and headed to Main Street. It was nearing midnight, so not many people were out and about, just women of the night and their patrons.

The only sound was his heavy footfalls on the cobbled street. It reminded him of that day he'd first seen Port Sarim; it had looked more presentable in those days, compared to its squalor now.

It had taken him months to save up for a ferry ticket, an even harder job when the monks had not paid him as much. Little had he known that he would regret ever stepping foot in Port Sarim.

He came back to reality when he noticed he'd arrived, and exactly at midnight. Sin took in the derelict two-story warehouse, steeled himself and turned the doorknob until it clicked. He placed a hand on the door and pushed, wondering what exactly he would find.


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's a treat for you. A new chapter will be released every week! Read and Review!**

Sins of the Past

Chapter Two

He wasn't expecting what he saw next. A dozen warriors armed to the teeth were waiting for him when he stepped over the threshold.

As if as one, all heads snapped in his direction. He held his breath and waited. Had all of this been a trap set by his father? To lure him out? He couldn't be sure. And if things continued like they were, he would never find out.

A voice pierced through the silence. "Out of my way!" Like dogs obeying their master, the group of thugs parted, revealing the most gorgeous woman he had ever had the pleasure to see.

Everything about her contradicted her surroundings, from her finely combed black hair to her genuine, red leather boots. He struggled to take her in, to memorize every single, minute detail, so that he would never forget her.

Her silky, black hair was cut off at the lower portion of the neck, not short, but not long either. She wore a pair of skintight leather pants, that hugged her curves in all the right places, under a white skirt. A tight red shirt and high heels completed her outfit.

She strode at a nonchalant pace, and upon reaching striking distance stopped. Now that she was closer, he could see crystal, blue eyes hidden under thick eyelashes. She was a stunning creature.

Her head bobbed up and down as she sized him up, as if for a feast. Her gaze lingered on his face. He saw her breath catch, almost as if she'd been struck by a heavy blow.

The woman regained her composure and spoke in an angelic voice tinged with danger, "Who are you?"

He answered, "Sin."

She frowned. "What an odd name. Where are you from?"

He glanced away and back. "Varrock."

The lady smirked. "You're lying, Sin. Which must mean you want to keep it a secret, no matter. I could care less where you're from."

"I was told to ask for Devyn," he interrupted.

She had been about to turn away, when what he said caused her to pause momentarily. Backtracking, she decided to give him another look. "What did you say?"

"A man at a bar told me to come to this address, and to ask for someone named Devyn."

She grinned like someone in on a joke. "Well then, it is nice to meet you. I am Devyn."

He frowned in confusion. This woman was Devyn? He had been expecting a man to be the one to locate his father. After all, whoever knew where his father was had to be working, either with him or against him, in the criminal world.

Sin smiled inwardly; he understood that he had misread this woman named Devyn. Her beauty had been distracting, and he had merely considered her as an object to be behold. He would not make that mistake again.

He extended his hand as a sign of friendship; the woman took his hand. She nodded towards a door some feet away, a signal that they should go somewhere more private to discuss matters.

Once inside, Devyn quickly shut and bolted the door. Sin looked around the room, but there wasn't much to see. It was a small-sized room with a wooden desk-possibly oak-in the middle of the room and several smaller chairs around it. A single candle burned in the holder over the desk, casting flickering shadows across the room. And a single portrait of a tiger hung on the wall behind the desk. Devyn crossed over behind the desk and sat down, resting her feet on the desktop. She pointed to the chair in front of her; she wanted him to sit down.

When he made no move to sit, she scoffed and said, "Please sit down, you're making me nervous."

Reluctantly, Sin did as he was told.

Devyn smiled at her small victory and continued, "Now on to business-"

"I want to know where he is."

Her face twitched as his impetuousness. "Who?"

"Rorin Temuji."

Reminiscent of the bartender, Devyn froze at the mention of his father's name, a behavior intended to suggest that Rorin either struck fear into the hearts of Gielinor's citizens or something far more dangerous.

She attempted to regain her poise by letting out a quick giggle, but it came out as a frightened laugh; Sin noticed and so did she, for she abruptly scowled. Obviously his father was much more powerful and deadly than he had believed at first. Here was another lesson he needed to learn.

She turned away from him, facing the portrait. "Get out."

When several minutes had came and gone, and Sin had still not gotten up from his position, Devyn finally twisted around to face him.

"Are you an imbecile? I thought I just told you to leave!"

Sin made no endeavor to respond to her attitude, but calmly said, "I want to know where to find Rorin Temuji."

Frustrated with him and his request, Devyn leaned over the desk and grabbed him by his shirt. She yanked his face as close to her own, close enough where, if it were to her pleasure, she could kiss him. When she took in his scent, she almost considered it, but she swiftly tossed that thought away.

"Why would you want to find him? He is too dangerous for someone as green as you."

Sin coolly removed her hands from his shirt and stood up. Devyn glanced down and saw he carried a weapon.

In response, she carefully reached for her own weapon. Sin saw this and smiled; with great care he released his sword from its home and placed it on the desk as a show of peace.

"It is very important that you tell me where to find Rorin, dear woman," he said gently. "I have to meet with him."

"But why?"

"That I cannot tell you."

She smirked. "If you won't tell me, then I will equally not reveal what I know."

It would seem that Sin and Devyn had reached an impasse, but what could he say? He wanted to tell her desperately that Rorin was his father, however, that was her beauty talking.

The monks had taught him well. A woman, when wanting something, would use her own body to entice a man to relinquish his knowledge or earthly possessions. To overcome this, one would need to let go of all fleshly desires.

He shut his eyes tightly. Devyn frowned curiously. What was he up to?

After a minute he reopened them. His female companion thought she'd noticed something different about him, like he was in some sort of trance.

He picked his sword back up. "If you won't tell me where to find my quarry, then let me take my leave."

Devyn at first was going to refuse to let him go, but after giving it some thought, she said, "Fine."

Opening the door, he felt her get up and stand behind him. He turned to see what she wanted. Her face was clouded with worry, like she'd actually be concerned about a perfect stranger.

"He's a dangerous man," she said above a whisper.

"I know."

She gaped at him. "Who are you?"

"Just a simple monk." With that he shut the door behind him.

Devyn had been a dead-end, and now Sin needed to find another lead. However, he couldn't get her out of his mind. She was a parasite feeding on him, and no amount of medicine could remove her.

There was nothing he could do, though, but try to get some rest. He shrugged out of his burdensome clothes and into some pajamas, then achingly climbed into his soft bed, if only for awhile.

He did not know how long he lay awake thinking of her. Her coal-black hair, her striking blue eyes, they were all too much for him. This feeling was unknown to him. He had been at a monastery for most of his life and no girl ever set foot on the island. So, could that be why he could not-or would not-erase her from his thoughts?

Sin's very body seemed to ache for her, like two star-crossed lovers fated never to touch one another.

But that was completely asinine. He had just met this girl; there was no logical explanation for how he was feeling, then. A feeling of desperation began to creep in on him, though, begging him to go to her, to embrace her, to kiss her.

He flung off his covers and paced the bedroom back and forth, as if physical activity could purge these unpure thoughts.

Her sparkling blue eyes. No, he mustn't!

Her soft lips. No, he mustn't think on it!

Her short, silky hair. What he was thinking was unpure, childish!

He wanted to run his hands down her soft curves, to kiss her soft lips. No, he couldn't; he was a monk and she was most obviously engaged in illegal deeds, many he would care not to dwell on.

Oh, how he did wish to dwell on her. He felt a scream rising up from his throat, and he was just about to let it free, when a soft knock, almost inaudible, sounded upon his door.

Composing himself, he walked over and opened the door to see who could be calling at this late hour.

Devyn.

"Hey" was all she said, almost as if calling on a stranger in the middle of the night was a common occurrence.

He wanted to tell her everything, how he was the son of Rorin, and more importantly about these foreign thoughts he'd been entertaining.

"Hey" was all he could muster.

The two of them stood in the open doorway, unsure on what was happening. He in his blue pajamas, and she in a red shirt with frill on the sleeves, black leather pants, and gold earrings on both ears.

The situation was awkward to both parties, for neither of them had ever been in a condition quite like this.

She smiled uneasily. "Can I come in?"

He nodded dully. Saying nothing, he stepped aside and let her by. She padded into the room as graceful as a cat. He stood frozen to the spot by the still open door as she slowly walked around his room, eyeing everything.

Pleased by what she saw, she turned back toward Sin and smiled shyly. "Nice place you have here."

He nodded numbly. "It was cheap."

She stretched nonchalantly, trying to cast off any suspicions that she was unsure about herself at the moment. Devyn perked her lips out and sighed. "How much," she finally asked.

He was painfully aware that the door stood wide open. "A silver piece a night."

"Not bad."

"Yes."

The two stood and said nothing for several moments. Finally Devyn moved to the door, shutting it. She sighed and went to sit on his bed, eventually lying down.

Again, a significant amount of time passed before either one spoke or moved. Occasionally Sin would cough or Devyn would fidget.

The more time passed, the more Sin got the sneaking feeling that all of this was pointless. Why was she here? And if she wanted something, why couldn't she have said so when he opened the door?

"I don't know why I came tonight," Devyn said at last, surprising Sin with her suddenness.

She glanced to see if he would say anything, but he remained silent, watching her like a hawk.

Rising to a sitting position and patting the spot beside her, she said, "Sit."

Moving as if tied down by rocks, Sin made his way over to her. Looking for confirmation-she nodded-he sat beside her. Almost instantly, he felt a serene calm fall over him. It felt normal just sitting next to her.

Time quickly passed as the two of them felt content to remain where they were. It was like nothing either had felt before. To Sin, it was as if the sun had washed over him, cleaning him and remaking him.

As a hint of sunlight began to peek in though the windows, Devyn started to rise, but Sin's hand on her arm held her. Surprised at this, she turned back to him.

"Don't go," he simply said, but there was a hint of an order buried deep beneath his simple plea.

A smile graced her lips. "I won't."

Hours later, there was no good bye, just a mutual understanding.

Sin sat in bed for hours after, wondering what had just happened, the experience being almost a total blur for him.

He was confused. On one hand, he was overjoyed and a bit anxious. But on the other, he felt dirty over breaking one of the Mandarin monks' tenets.

Angered, he slammed his fist through the wall, putting a dense hole in it. He strove to never commit that sin again, swearing on his deity. He gathered his things and checked out of his room.

He would head north to Lumbridge, a large city compared to Port Sarim. It was the center of Gielinor and where he would mostly likely discover his father's whereabouts.

If not, he would continue across the continent. Sin would search until he found his father. He hadn't considered what he would do when he did, but matters like that did not concern him at the moment.

Only the thought of locating Rorin was anchored in his mind.

The path would be long one, for Lumbridge was many days away from the port. He estimated it would take him at least ten days to reach it. Until then, he would steadily walk the dusty road, sharing it with others like him.

Who were they? Perhaps they were simple merchants on their way to spread their goods across the world-for a profit. Maybe they'd returned from a soldier camp, heading home to reunited with loving wives, girlfriends, and family.

A thought lodged itself in his train of thoughts: Did he have any family? Over the years, he'd only ever thought about his father, never his mother. Was there a brother waiting for him back home? Had his brother taken his place at his father's right hand?

He roughly pushed that idea away. He had no time to dwell on such simple fancies. Sin needed to stay on course.

**I hope you are enjoying the interquel to The Sphere of Varrock. Leave your thoughts in a review.**

**The next chapter will be up next week.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Please enjoy this new chapter.**

Sins of the Past

Chapter Three

Walking on what seemed a never-ending road was not what Sin had planned. He had left behind Port Sarim days ago, but nevertheless he felt no closer to Lumbridge. It almost felt like he'd been walking on a repeating path, destined never to move at all.

If it weren't for the various travelers he had met along the way, he surely would have believe he was walking endlessly.

At this rate he would never reach the city or find his malevolent father. Luckily his monk training helped pass the time or else he'd have long gone crazy days ago.

The technique was known to the monks as _spirit-walking_. One could project their mind elsewhere, and continue what they were doing in the mortal realm.

He willed his spirit to travel to the realm of specters. Here he could engage in intellectual pursuits to easily pass the time. Sin would need to be extremely careful, for spirits were tricky. There were some who, in a moment's notice, would take the opportunity to possess your earthly body, thus trapping you in the spirit world.

The monks had taught him the ways of _tenhaigo_ or spirit building. With the right amount of concentration, an individual could spiritually lock their mortal bodies and prevent roaming spirits from possessing it.

He entered the spirit world, or as the monks called it: _spirigo_.

Being dead and lost to the mortal realm, there was not much variety among scenery in the spirit world. And there need not be; spirits had left behind earthly goods.

Drifting along as light as a cloud, Sin happened upon a distinctly purple piece of ethereal material, or a spirit.

"I give you my greetings, _saigu_," Sin said reverently. A _saigu_ was the most honorable of spirits. On earth they would have been clergyman, monks, teachers, and scholars. The monks had taught him that one should always respect the _saigu_. Thus did he offer his greeting, instead of thrusting himself upon the spirit.

He anchored himself and waited. Oftentimes a _saigu_ would test visitors' patience. The longest recorded time was two months. It was his master monk Geshu who had completed the test. How proud was he to learn that piece of trivia.

The _saigu_ eventually honored Sin with responding, after one week's time. "I accept thy greeting, _humago_."

Sin smiled to himself, knowing that a _humago_ was what spirits called humans. He also knew that it was an honorable thing to be called so. It was dishonorable to be referred to as _nohumago_, or unworthy human.

"I am traveling far on a journey most dear to my heart, and have come to you, most admirable _saigu_, to pass the hours through scholarly thought."

The spirit quivered in acceptance. "That is a most worthy goal, young _humago_. It pleases me to grant your request."

Sin bowed. "Thank you, most wonderful _saigu_."

"Let me offer up a topic."

"Of course, _saigu_," Sin replied. He had had several discussions with various _saigu_, but none as formal as this. He hoped he would not disgrace himself or his monk brothers.

"Let us think on earthly politics," the _saigu_ ventured. "For it is a morally complicated subject."

"I confess I do not know much on this topic," Sin embarrassingly admitted.

The spirit paid no heed. "It matters not. Perhaps you would like to suggest an alternative topic?"

An idea for a topic occurred to him. "I suggest the topic of women, dear _saigu_."

The _saigu _pondered this for quite some time. It eventually agreed, though. "Please begin."

"I have failed in the Mandarin monks' teachings, wise one. I have known a woman intimately."

"Ah, I remember the Mandarin monks; such a morally upright group of individuals," the spirit exclaimed. "What was the name of this female?"

"Devyn."

"I see, 'tis a beautiful name, indeed. I could better give you advice if I were to know the circumstances that haunt you, poor _humago_."

So Sin put forth the actions that had transpired the previous evening. The words flowed from his mouth like a river bursting from a dam that plugged it no longer. With each syllable spoken, Sin felt the weight of his sin lift from his shoulders.

The _saigu_ made no attempts to interrupt or ask questions, for disrupting was dishonorable and could set back Sin's progress by weeks. The spirit had, too, led a life of pure goals and nobility. It knew what the stakes were if such high virtues were lost.

When Sin had finished, he felt reborn. He would have danced for joy, if his body was not back in the mortal plane. He thanked the _saigu_ profusely and acquitted the _spirigo_.

He traveled back to earth, but when he tried to reenter his body, he was rejected. Puzzled at first, he merely tried again. A second time he was rejected from entering his body. By the third time, he began to panic.

Something had gone terribly wrong, but what? His eyes roved over the landscape, but he spotted nothing out of place.

Wait, what was that?

Sin had spotted something on his body's head. It was too tiny to make out. Shrinking down to tiny proportions, he flew over what appeared to be a dark, black blob.

Peering closer seemed to alert the blob to Sin's presence, for it quivered and jerked around until an eye appeared. Shocked, Sin could only gaze in awe as the tiny blob began to grow and expand to towering heights.

"It would seem the owner of this fine body has returned," the blob said.

Sin was speechless. What malignant spirit was this? It obviously was not a _saigu_. Sin went through the types of spirits: _saigu_, _caolgu_, _kaogu_, and _mano_. He supposed that this thing could be a _kaogu_, a parasite spirit that preyed upon spirit travelers who had not locked their bodies.

"Explain yourself, vile _kaogu_!" he exclaimed. "How did you possess my body?"

"Dear boy, I find it amusing that you presume to know me," it chastised him.

"Then reveal your nature foul one!"

"I shall not, for to do so would be like educating a toddler on the intricacies of political science; it would fall on deaf ears."

The scornful laugh of the _kaogu_ only furthered to infuriate Sin. The giant glob would be an eyesore to any passing traveler, though there was none in sight. Sin helplessly tried to think of some plan to rid himself of this leech, however, in his spirit form he could do nothing.

"What's wrong, little one?" the blob inquired.

Failing to illicit a response, it resolved to irritate Sin even more so.

Sin inhaled and exhaled, following the guidelines his monk brothers had bestowed upon him. To cleanse yourself of anger, one must purge all thoughts from one's mind, leaving nothing behind.

The evil spirit watched in mock concern. Sin sent a warning alert to his friend, the _saigu_. Help would come soon.

Sin focused his attention on the parasitic spirit once again and asked, "What kind of _kaogu _are you?"

Growing bored of the conversation, it answered him lazily, "An evolved _kaogu_."

"_Kaogu _can evolve?" Sin asked, surprised. He had not known of this. The monks of Mandar has never spoken of such a creature. When he got his body back, he would be sure to ask the _saigu_ about this.

It blinked its eye. "Not naturally. However, with some assistance, one could evolve. _Kaogu_ that do evolve are _kaogukai_."

'Changing parasites?' If Sin had been in his body, he was sure that he would have felt a chill climb down his spine.

Sin hurried the conversation up; he could sense the _saigu_ coming to aid him. "And what causes this evolution?"

"My master, of course." The _kaogukai_, becoming even more bored, had started to drift around Sin's mortal head like a satanic halo.

Impossible! _Kaogu_ have never had masters; they were a selfish group of spirits who heeded no mortal man. The _saigu_ was almost upon them, but Sin had yet to learn the name of this mysterious master.

"Tell me the name of your master, _kaogukai_," Sin said imploringly.

The spirit paused.

"Quickly!" It was too late, though. The _saigu_ had descended in a blinding flash of light, utterly destroying the _kaogukai_.

The evil creature did manage to scream one letter of his master's name: K.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for not uploading this last week. I forgot all about it. To make up for it, this week will have two new chapters.**

Sins of the Past

Chapter Four

It felt good being in his body again; spirit traveling was extremely exhausting. Not to mention the stress that came with fighting off a foreign invader that can apparently evolve.

Assuring himself that all traces of the _kaogukai_ were gone, Sin had resumed his journey. Additionally, the _saigu_ had decided to stick around, in case any other spirits attempted to harm him.

At the moment they were traveling in utter silence, but earlier Sin had talked to the _saigu_ about Devyn and how the monks of Mandar were doing. All were fine.

"I am deeply concerned, young _humago_," the _saigu _said.

"About the _kaogukai_?" Sin asked.

"That and its master," the spirit confessed. "In all my years, I have never quite seen anything like this. A _kaogu _has never taken on a human master nor has it evolved past its original form. This is very troubling news for the _spirigo _and for your world."

Sin inclined his head toward the spirit. "What do you suggest we do, _saigu_? It would seem not even _tenhaigo _can protect one from this kaogukai."

The spirit seemed to brood over it. As the hours of silence passed, Sin could just make out the city's skyline over the horizon. The _saigu _had not yet broken the heavy fog of silence, so the young human was content to merely walk side by side with the honorable spirit.

They were nearer to the city. Hunger getting the best of him, Sin stopped at a group of trees. He laid his pack on the ground and sifted through it for some food. Rewarded with a sweet tart and a canteen of water, Sin happily dug in.

As he ate and drank, he strove to think on the _kaogukai _as well. If _tenhaigo _no longer worked, or could be overridden, what precautions could be taken?

He had learned the technique from his monk brothers, but was it possible that there was more than one technique to spirit locking? If one assumed that there could be more than one evolutionary form, then one could also assume that there must be more precautionary steps to insure the safety of a human's body while in the spirit world.

"Human, I have something of which to tell you," the _saigu _spoke gravely.

Sin placed his half eaten tart away. "I'm honored for you tell me."

"First I must ask of you a question."

"Ask, dear _saigu_."

"Where did you learn _tenhaigo_?" the spirit drifted lower to the ground.

Sin grinned with the memory. "My mentor Geshu taught it to me."

The _saigu _fell into silence again.

Finishing up his lunch, Sin packed up everything and trekked the rest of the way to the city of Lumbridge. Only a mile left to travel, Sin could now fully make out the city's wall.

Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw. When he had pictured the city, he had imagined Port Sarim, just cleaner. What he saw amazed him.

A huge stone wall, riddled with buttresses and crowned with battlements winded miles in either direction. He could just barely make out soldiers patrolling the wall. The grey stone wall was as tall as twenty Sins stacked on top of each other with square holes cut into the sides for archers to aim from in times of attack. It was so tall, he couldn't even see over the top into the city. How frightened those guards must be to be at such a stomach clenching height! The mere thought of standing atop the battlements sent Sin's stomach into a tizzy.

Sin got over his paralysis and continued. He had never seen a city like this. Though, truth be told, he had never left Mandar but once.

"The wall is higher," Sin's spirit friend said.

"Do you mean it was lower when you lived here?" Sin ventured to ask.

"Yes," the _saigu _said. "War was not common and we feared no attack from bandits or thieves. The sight of the wall, at such heights, sickens me to the core of my soul."

They continued on, getting strange looks from the natives. Sin did not understand. Did no one else travel with spirits?

Finally they had reached the city gate, where the _saigu _declared his intention to depart. Sin begged him not to go.

"I am sorry, but because I died in the vicinity, I can never return."

Sin nodded in defeat. He bowed to the _saigu_. "I thank you for traveling with me."

"I accept your thanks, and pass on to you knowledge of another spirit locking technique."

Sin looked up in surprise. "There are others?"

"Infinite. But, there is no time for a lesson. I imprint the knowledge of _tenhaigokai _unto you." The _saigu _wafted over Sin's head, a white light etching itself onto Sin's forehead. The light took on the shape of the symbol for spirit, a circle with a diagonal slash, then ceased glowing, leaving behind the symbol.

The _saigu _began to fade. "I trust you to use this technique wisely, young _humago_."

Sin bowed a second time. "You have my promise, _saigu_."

The _saigu_ had vanished before Sin had finished talking, leaving him behind to face Lumbridge by himself.

The city was very different from Port Sarim, once past the gate. The first thing that hit him was the smell. Sin only smelled the mouthwatering scent of various loaves of bread, and not the gut wrenching odor of rotting rat.

Expecting some resistance at the gate, Sin was surprised when the guard had simply let him through without checking for anything hidden.

Perhaps his stay would be more pleasant than his time in Port Sarim. So far his experience in Lumbridge highly suggested this. He'd barely gotten through the gate when a clergyman had approached him boldly.

Seeing a clergyman had raised Sin's hopes about the city. He had been invited to afternoon service, and Sin supposed he would make time to sit in.

After minute observation, he concluded that he was currently in the market district of Lumbridge. It made sense from a purely business point of view. How does one make sure that you have new customers? Make the stores the first thing a traveler sees when he comes through the gate.

Sin didn't have much in the way of coin, but he decided it wouldn't hurt him to check out the stalls nearby. Wandering over to a brown stall close to the gate, he saw that the stall keeper was selling sweet tarts!

"I see you have an eye for tarts, good man," the stall keeper said with a toothless grin.

Sin reached for his coin purse. "How much for one?"

"Since you're new to the city, how about ten copper pieces?" the toothless man held up a grizzly hand and accepted the coin, counting it twice to make sure it was all there. Satisfied, the man grabbed a tart and placed it in Sin's waiting hands.

Sin walked away, happy as could be. He chewed the tart as he perused the other stalls. By the time he was done, he'd bought a sweet tart, a new coin purse, and new clothes.

Later he found himself in the residential district. Houses of various sizes lined the streets in either direction. He spotted a few houses in terrible shape. Though those houses were by far the exception, not the rule.

As he traversed the highly confusing and mazelike streets, Sin happened upon a child lying in a gutter. The little girl was curled up into a ball, crying and afraid. He noticed that there was no one around who could be the mother or father to the tiny girl, so he took it upon himself to help.

Without hesitating, he bent over and addressed the fearful girl, "Hi, little one."

Sniffling, the girl merely gazed up at him with her wide eyes. Sin held out his hand, offering her safety. "Are you lost?"

The girl nodded numbly. "Yes."

"If you come with me, I can help find your parents, _luga_," he said with a reassuring smile.

The little girl bit her lip out of hesitation, but once Sin flashed a smile, she hopped into his arms. Carrying her, Sin went house to house searching for her parents.

As they searched, the little one asked him a question, "What's a _luga_, mister?"

He grinned at her, making her giggle. "_Luga_ means 'little one.'"

The girl puffed out her cheeks. "Hey! I'm not that little!"

Sin chuckled. "Of course not, _luga_, of course not."

Eventually the two approached a mansion guarded by a giant gate. The gate was cast out of solid gold and adorned with shiny rubies. Sin shook his head in disapproval. Some people had such an attachment to earthly goods that they forsook their spiritual journeys.

"Is this your house?" Sin asked the little girl.

The girl nodded and leapt from his hands running up to the door. He followed at a lax pace, in no hurry to reach the door as quickly as the girl.

Suddenly opening, her parents rushed from the house, scooping her up in their arms, all the while laughing and crying with joy. It brought a smile to Sin's face.

Turning to him, the father asked, "Are you the man who brought our little flower home?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then I must give you a hefty reward! Here, I will give you a thousand gold pieces!" The rich father grabbed at his coin purse, but Sin stopped him.

"Please, I do not need a reward."

"But why not?" exclaimed the man's wife. "Surely you do not aim to walk away from here empty-handed?"

"Taking your coin would only cheapen my good act," Sin replied calmly. "I'm sorry for leaving so soon; I am needed elsewhere."

The happily reunited family waved to him as he departed.

A few hours later he ended back up in the market district, having gone in a giant complete circle. As nice as Lumbridge was, there was nothing of tremendous value there.

The only valuable thing Sin needed was information.


	5. Chapter 5

Sins of the Past

Chapter Five

"One room for a week will cost four silver pieces," the innkeeper declared. "That fair?"

"That's fair."

As Sin walked to the stairs which would lead to the second floor where his room for the week was located, the innkeeper called out.

"Sir, wait!" Sin glanced back. The man gestured wildly.

"I heard you were an adventurer," the man whispered secretively. "Is is true?"

"And if I am?" Sin didn't like where this was going. Any number of things could go wrong. An assassin hired by his father might have found him. Even worse was Devyn could have discovered and tracked him down. The very thought gave him goose bumps.

The man, to Sin's annoyance, glanced around three times as if someone was listening in. He leaned in closer. "A man has been looking for someone fitting your description."

His blood turned to ice; his father had somehow caught on to him. Scanning for easy exits, Sin tuned out of the conversation. There was the front door-too easy. If an assassin truly was coming, he would be watching the front door closely. That left several windows; the problem was most of them could be seen from across the street, a prime location for his killer.

Behind him were the stairs, which he could take. Would the killer be watching the back windows as well? Sin couldn't be sure, and he didn't like his chances.

Approximately forty possible exits were available to Sin. Choices, so many choices, yet so few options.

His best chance of survival was to slip out through the kitchen. It was located facing an empty alleyway where he could mingle with the homeless beggars. From the alley there were two exits: going out the northerly exit led back to the front of the inn, to the assassin. So that was evidently out.

However, the southerly exit led to a lightly used side street occupied with a few merchants. That would be his best prospect.

The innkeeper's shrill voice pierced his thoughts. "Sir! Are you listening, sir?"

Sin blushed furiously. The man had been calling his name for over a minute. Lost in his escape plans, the man's yelling had gone unnoticed. Refocusing, Sin nodded and offered his apologies.

"Like I was saying, the man mentioned that he was looking for someone who could help him with a ghost problem."

Sin's face twisted in confusion. Ghost? His father hadn't paid an assassin to slice his throat? Feeling a bit sheepish even though no one had witnessed his deepest thoughts, Sin cleared his throat.

"Did he mention what type of ghost problem?"

Shaking his head, the innkeeper said, "No, he didn't. He gave me this slip of paper with his address, if you decided to help him."

"Could you tell me his name or anything about him?" Sin asked.

He started to shake his head, but he had just realized something. "Yes, his name was Artus Sorrai."

Sin grimaced at the name. _Artus_ meant wizard, while _sorrai_ translated roughly in to time. This time wizard hardly needed Sin to exterminate some specters, though Sin would never do any such thing. He cared for all spirits, and could most likely reach an agreement with them.

He thanked the innkeeper for passing the news along to him and set out for the time wizard's place of residence.

One hour later, Sin found himself standing in front of the largest house he had seen so far in Lumbridge. It rivaled even _lugo_'s mansion. It was three stories tall and the front looked like the maw of some giant, ferocious beast.

The yard was so massive that to the naked eye, it seemed like it would require an entire hour just to reach the front door. That is, if one could locate their way through the seemingly infinite amount of trees that occupied the yard's space.

A massive iron gate stood between him and the stone path curving to the house. As far as he could tell, there was no latch on it. So how could he get in?

He explored the colossal, limestone walls that completely surrounded the grounds. Strangely there were no blemishes anywhere on the wall; none that he could see. If he were going to gain access to the time wizard's palace, he would need to get crafty.

A well placed bush gave him an idea.

Free from his earthly body, which was hidden in the bush, Sin drifted over the estate. Besides the draining experience that leaving ones body could exact, spirit traveling was fun.

The exhilarating rush you get when soaring thousands of miles in the air, speeding toward destinations unknown and exploring the _spirigo_; nothing could rival it.

He had gained entrance to his spiritual form, and now it was time for him to sneak into the house. He guided his spirit form to an open window on the second floor, seeping in past the curtains. Once inside, he morphed into a spiritual representation of his human self.

Peering around, he could make out an antique bed and a full length mirror. Other than those two furnishings, not much else stood out. This must not be a room used often.

He quickly headed through the hallway, searching each room for the time wizard. The house seemed big on the outside, yet even larger in scale from the inside. There were, at least, ten rooms on the second floor. Oddly each of the rooms contained the same two furnishings: an antique bed, of varying age, and a full length mirror.

What could that mean? There just had to be some hidden meaning. Even if it was an unconscious one. The monks had taught Sin early on that in life everything had a surface meaning, but peel back the layers and there would always be a hidden meaning; sometimes it was unknown even to the person who it belonged to. The monks had given him an example:

A man kills his wife and buries her in his backyard. Several weeks later, guards begin questioning the husband as to her exact whereabouts. No evidence is found. However, after some time had passed, a neighbor witnessed the man visiting his backyard in the middle of the night. Suspicious, the neighbor had alerted the guards.

The guards confronted the man, forcing him to dig up his backyard. Eventually they discovered the rotting corpse of the man's wife, who he had killed and buried in the backyard. When interrogated as to the reason he killed her, he stated that she'd been sleeping with his best friend and was tired of her flaunting it.

But, with much probing, a buried reason surfaced-the man had lost many of his relatives to disease and war. So, he was subconsciously worried that he would lose his wife. Thus, to prevent this from happening, he had killed her so he couldn't lose her. Sadly, he discovered that his wife had never slept with his friend.

The story had haunted him as a kid. Some may argue that the monks were unwise in telling him such a story at so young an age, but he would dispute that claim. He knew there was no abstract lesson in the story; it was just an example. However, that was merely a test. Like the monks had said, everything in life had a secret significance.

In his spirit form, Sin pressed on, ever vigilante for danger. Not much could harm him in his current form, but that did not mean he should throw caution aside.

No, that meant that anything that could harm him was that more dangerous to him.

At last he had reached the end of the hall and turning the corner saw the stairs leading down onto the first floor where who knew how many rooms awaited him.

He floated down the stairs and the first thing he noticed when he entered the first floor was the distinct lack of any furniture. It was almost as if nobody even lived here. Taking even greater precaution, he risked traveling further into, what appeared, a trap.

To his left was the kitchen, and a living room to his right. He mentally flipped a coin-heads. The living room it was.

The living room was the same as the foyer: no furniture, except a chair. Sin figured it was a sofa chair, made during the Second Age. How it had come to remain so perfectly intact, he could only hazard a guess.

Something stirred to his right. He spun around and came face to face with an imposing figure. A man with black hair seeming to have been dipped in white paint stood poised before him. The man had a taste for the extravagant, for he bore a traditional, Al Kharid royal robe: beige shirt with red sleeves; white baggy pants with the trimmings in black, though the black was not traditional; and a red cape, a silver eagle blazoned on the back.

It was the time wizard.

"I see you've let yourself in; how very quaint," Artus said with an intentional fake drawl.

Unwilling to show his surprise at being seen, Sin simply said, "You can see me."

"Surprised?" laughed Artus. "To an untrained eye, you would be completely invisible; however, I am not untrained."

Sin frowned. "You are a time wizard."

It was Sorrai's turn to frown. He growled savagely. "You speak the language of the _chrono_?"

"I was taught the language by monks."

An unsettled smile appeared on Artus' face. "Were these monks Mandarin?"

"So what if they are?" Sin asked. "What would you know of their ways?"

Sin's remark elicited a chuckle from Artus. "As you have so said, I am a time wizard, one of the last of my kind. The humans call us time wizards, but as you also know, we are _chronos_. We monitor the time stream itself, watching for anomalies or simply passing the time to the next time wizard.

"I am the 6677th time wizard. My race was wiped out by a rip in the fabric of time."

Sin had grown impatient with the _chrono's_ ramblings, and had interrupted. "Speak, what does this have to do with me?"

Artus shushed him and continued as if he'd never paused. "This rip happens exactly 1.4 years from today. Before my home was destroyed, I traveled back 1.4 years to save the world from destruction."

"I don't believe you," Sin said. "A time wizard could simply erase the rip, if he so wanted."

"Exactly, but I can't."

"Why?"

"The rip couldn't be erased," he lamented. "I tried and tried, but nothing worked. Eventually I learned that something, or more to the point, someone was interfering, causing static."

"And that's why you've come back? To figure out what is causing this interference."

Smiling sadly, Artus asked, "You don't believe me, do you?"

"The monks have taught me that time wizards are vain creatures who lie as naturally as they breathe. To believe one is to seal one's fate."

Sin watched as Sorrai paced back and forth for several long minutes, saying nothing at all; which, in and of itself, is very strange. Time wizards were a talkative race, never one for long pauses.

The fact that he had said not one thing for the last five minutes was disturbing, seeming to solidify his explanation for returning. Maybe this, the last of his species, _chrono_ could be trusted.

"How can I help, _chrono-gu_?" Sin asked, deliberately using the respectful connotation.

Sorrai slowly turned around. After a moment's surprise, he smiled. "I will tell you."

"Speak plainly, then."

"After coming to this time period, I have discovered the cause of the interference. I was wrong as to what it was, however. By this I mean there are now two interferences."

"Two?"

"The first interference led to the second. I've identified the first as a mage and the second as an unknown entity from the future."

Sin raised his eyebrow expectantly. "Ok, but what can we do about it? The first seems like we could easily, by comparison, track him down; the second one is out of our reach."

Revealing a chalkboard from a supply closest, where none had been there before, Sorrai began to draw two individual lines. The first line he labeled 'Timeline A' and the second one as 'Timeline B.'

"Years into the future, humans will begin to consider time travel. At first it will simply be to relive history, to see how a historical figure lived. Nothing good lasts forever, though, and there will be those who seek to use it for evil purposes."

"And if your purpose is to be entirely confusing explaining this, then you've won," Sin muttered with sigh. "Would you please get to the point?"

"Fine!" the time wizard sighed. "Timeline A represents our time and Timeline B is our time, but altered by an event."

He drew in a dot on the first line, then on the second line, and connected the two with a thick white line.

"Now I have created a tangent. This is where the timeline splits off into another timeline resulting from that one action. Now normally this happens daily on a regular basis, so imagine an infinite amount of lines splitting off into an infinite amount of other lines. You get a web of time.

"From there it's quite simple to figure out where we would be. The rip is also an action that can cause a tangent, though with catastrophic results. While a regular tangent merely 'alters' the timeline, the rip destroys the timeline."

"So you're not really from this timeline's future? Merely a possible future?" Sin asked wide-eyed.

"You're getting it! But my tangent timeline, which forks from your own, has been destroyed. If we don't do something, this could destroy your own timeline."

"I don't see how that could happen."

"If events keeping happening like they currently are, it will come to pass. Your timeline will split into mine, then be destroyed by the time rip, killing everyone."

"So how can we stop it?" a worried Sin asked.

"We need to create our own tangent," Artus said boldly. "Doing that will create another tangent and prevent this current time from being obliterated."

"Here is how that will happen," he continued. "The two events that, together, create the rift are from two different time periods. The mage is from our current timeline, but he's ancient. The second is from a possible future. He is using some sort of machine/magic hybrid to transport an astral of himself back to the past to communicate with a boy named Solo."

"And you want me to stop this boy from contacting Solo?" Sin asked.

"Yes, and while you do that, I will continue to perform time experiments to gauge exactly when the rip begins to appear."

Sin was unable to fully comprehend everything he had heard. It seemed so incredible and unreal, but that was due to the complex nature of time. Compared to time, spirit traveling was as simple as breathing. He wasn't entirely sure he could trust the time wizard, yet he didn't see any other course of action for them.

Artus could have been lying about the rip, and therefore using Sin as a pawn in some hidden agenda. What the agenda was, Sin couldn't be sure. What he could be was careful and cautious, always keeping one eye open.

Back in his body again, Sin stretched out all the kinks that had arisen because of how he had laid it.

He groaned as a particularly hard kink was finally removed. A glance revealed that it was very late; the moon had come out and the howling of distant dogs reminded him to be on his way.

His quest to find his father had just been complicated. Caught up in the moment, he had agreed to help Artus save his timeline and theirs, but now he began to have doubts.

The entire reason he left Mandar was to find his father, not get caught up in some time travel scheme. He was beginning to feel like a fish out of water and he was drying out quick.

Maybe he should just forget all about Artus and 'saving the world,' and just move along. The idea appealed to him; traveling the roads of the world, searching for Rorin, sounded like a good idea.

He stopped where he was. He was close to the inn, but he needed more time to think. And with a beautiful full moon, how could he be indoors?

At a time like this, Sin would normally have switched to the spirit world for advice, but he had already used up all the energy he had. So he had nothing else to do but sit and think.

When departing on his quest, if someone had told him that he would be helping to save the world, he would easily have thought them insane. He'd only been after his father, nothing else.

Nothing else should have mattered.

Sitting on the sidewalk, Sin didn't notice a newspaper fluttering in the breeze, until it smacked him in face.

In bold print read: ZOMBIES MARCHING TO VALOR!

Valor? If his geography wasn't rusty, Valor was home to the illustrious and famed White Knights. The knights were known for their valor, bravery, loyalty, and honor.

Being a kid, Sin had always wanted to be a White Knight. Rescuing damsels in distress, fighting fiery dragons, and plunging through fortresses in search of treasure had been his desire.

What kid didn't want to be a shiny warrior riding into battle, sword raised high?

Sometimes when his class sessions were over he would head to the beach and pretend he was a knight fighting an evil overlord. The monks didn't let him use real weapons at that age, so he had to make due with a stick.

He would swing that poor stick this way and that way for hours. The monks would usually need to pry him from it just so they could get him into bed.

It was a surprise to Sin that reading about zombies in Valor would bring up feelings of homesickness. He hadn't known that when he left Mandar, that he might never see it again.

And the way things were going currently, that was likely to happen.

Walking over to him was a lady dressed in white, and as she neared him called out, "Good evening, sir! The wind blew my paper away from me and I've been chasing it for the better part of an hour. Could I please have it back?

Sin nodded, handing the paper over to her. She stole a quick glance at the front-page and gasped sadly. "Those poor people. I do hope they are able to evacuate the city."

With that she walked down the street, disappearing into the night.

It may seem like I stole the time-wizard detail from Doctor Who, but I didn't. I hadn't heard of the show at the time of this chapter.


	6. Chapter 6

Sins of the Past

Chapter 6

A monk must do what is right, and never stray from the path of light. It is his motto, his code of honor. Above all, he must detach himself from worldly problems. When he finds himself in a life or death situation, he must do the right thing, however.

A monk must strive to be devoid of anger, sadness, greed, lust, and violence. To commit one is to break the Mandarin Tenets, and dishonor himself and his monk brothers.

To regain their honor, the monk must enter a meditation period of one week, one month, or one year, depending on the severity of the sin. He had broken the lust tenet, though since he had not partaken in the forbidden fruit, he need only meditate for one week.

Only a few items were required for a meditation: five candles to represent the five great sins, five candles to represent the five great virtues, and the monk himself.

All ten candles symbolized the wheel of life. On the left side was anger, sadness, greed, lust, and violence. And on the other was honor, integrity, selflessness, abstinence, and loyalty.

To restrain from the left and partake of the right, is what makes a Mandarin monk pure and righteous.

Yet no one can be perfect, as Sin had learned. Upon meeting the first woman he had ever seen, he'd fallen right into lust. Some would call it love, even love at first sight, but that is a misconception.

Love is a strong emotion, an emotion no one should take or use lightly. Humans do not simply fall into love. It is more likely that they stumble into it. When meeting a beautiful woman, Sin did not take into account her personality, her interests, her beliefs; her outward appearance was the only first impression he got.

Thus it wasn't true love at all; it was faux love.

Monks never love a woman because of one of the five great virtues: abstinence. 'Do not indulge in the flesh or of any earthly thing; I am all you need.'

Sin had been so caught up in the pursuit of his father, of Devyn, and of Artus, he had failed to notice that he had broken one of the great virtues. 'Do not indulge in the flesh or of ANY earthly thing.'

He had blindly hunted his father. He had blindly fallen into lust with Devyn. He had involved himself in the petty matters of humans. Sin had failed as a monk and must meditate to regain his lost honor.

One week would be all he needed to do just that. A place of holiness must first be found, however. The church located in Valor, the town he currently resided in, would do. Part of regaining his honor was to perform an act of honor, integrity, selflessness, abstinence, and loyalty.

He had performed honor, integrity, selflessness, and loyalty when he had traveled to the wastelands north of Valor to stop an army of zombies from invading Valor. The cause was of no concern of his; he must not involve himself in the affairs of ordinary humans.

Meditating for an exact week would provide his abstinence requirement: to go one week without searching for his father.

While Valor Church had no Mandarin members, the clergyman had honored his request to use the church as his place of meditation. The clergyman had shown him a supply closet that Sin could use for the duration of his stay.

Sin assured his host that the accommodations would be fine. And then Sin had entered the trance of meditation known to the monks as _spirit-healing_.

To those who knew nothing of the Mandarin monks, what happened during a meditation period was a mystery. Some believed that one simply sat there, ignoring the surroundings. It was not so. When entering the meditation period, the monk's spirit traveled to _spirigo_, just like _spirit-walking_.

The difference was that the monk in question was restricted to a certain part of _spirigo_, and could not leave the area until the meditation was over. Nothing could awaken a monk while he was meditating, not even death. For when a Mandarin monk meditated, he was above the laws and rules of nature. A blow that would kill an ordinary man would have absolutely no effect on the monk, who would simply heal from the wound.

Thus some monks entered meditation to protect their lives when endangered. This was not common in the current age, since the monks had all retreated to the island of Mandar at the end of the Second Age.

_Spirigo_ was organized into seven distinct regions, not unlike the human world. The region meditation was restricted to was _meditigo_. The other six regions were _argo, cartago, fugo, salgo, sugoi,_and_ zenago_.

_Argo_ was the region where those of no faith dwelled for eternity. They had limitations to which regions they could visit; for example, they could not visit _zenago_ where those of faith lived. Those from _zenago_, however, could visit any place.

While any spirit could visit _fugo_, land of the evil spirits, none would go there willingly. As such, the spirits of _fugo_ could not travel to the other six regions. The evil spirits could travel to the human world, though.

The land of the lost, _cartago_, was where spirits awaited their assigned region. Sometimes it would take 100 years for a decision to be made.

_Salgo_ was home to the elder spirits, those who existed before the creation of the universe. Not many spirits visited, due to the elder spirits being very supercilious.

The last region was _sugoi_, home to the gods. All spirits, excluding those from _meditigo_ and _fugo_, were required to visit this region once a year to pay homage to the creators.

He placed the candles in a complete circle in the middle of the room. He entered the circle and began to light the candles, saying a mantra for each candle lit.

He lit the anger candle. "'Holy is he who remains calm.'"

Preceding to sadness, he lit it and said, "'Rejoice! For I have brought you out of sorrow and into my love.'"

Greed was next. "'You shall not want for anything, for I will provide for you.'"

Lust was after that. He paused before it, to signify that this was one he had broken. He then lit it. "'Taste not of fleshly desires, for it is enough that I love you.'"

He then lit violence, saying, "'Strike not at others, for I will rebuke them for hurting you.'"

The candles of virtues were next.

"'Be like the knight who protects his lord's castle.'" He lit the honor candle.

"'Be as unmoving in your integrity as the mighty river.'" He struck the match upon the candle of integrity's wick. A tiny flame ignited into life.

"'Think not of yourself, but of others'" was said after igniting selflessness' candle.

Two more candles remained: loyalty and abstinence. He placed himself before the blue candle representing loyalty and lit the candle. "'Love your nation as you love me.'"

Finally he faced abstinence, a white, undecorated candle. It was the tallest candle of all of them, for one should strive for perfect abstinence in all things.

He paused before it, then lit the candle's wick carefully. At first, the small flame barely lived, so Sin blew into it, sparking life into it. "'Do not indulge in the flesh or of any earthly thing; I am all you need.'"

Now that all the candles had been lit, only one mantra remained to be said and one candle remained to be lit.

He was that candle.

Sin sat himself down amongst the candles and closed his eyes, willing his body to enter the dormant state needed to pass over into _meditigo_. Unlocking most of the chains that barred the way, he inserted the key, the mantra, that would release his spirit.

"'I am a child of Mandarin, my god and the only lover I shall ever need. If it pleases him, let me cleanse myself and partake of the fruit of joy.'"

His spirit burst forth from its mortal coils and fled to _meditigo_. The journey there was short. Soon he found himself resting on an orange, puffy cloud somewhere in the _meditigo_ region.

Now began his weeklong meditation.

While his body rested back on earth, Sin could do almost anything his heart desired, for _meditigo_ was not a place to punish those who had broken the tenets, but to provide a relaxing environment where the monks could reflect on their mistakes and correct them.

Sin took it upon himself to take it easy while he was staying here. Back on earth he had to worry about money, death, and everyday problems. Here, however, he could simply drift away on the wind, ignoring everything but inner tranquility.

This must be what awaits the Mandarin's children after death, Sin thought. How could he ever have gone against his god's laws? This place was absolutely perfect, so much so that he could stay here forever.

An hour later, Sin was floating along simply enjoying life, when he accidentally bumped into another spirit. The other spirit was currently using his nimbus cloud form, and wasn't expecting anyone to be in this part of _meditigo_.

"I'm so very sorry!" the spirit exclaimed.

Sin chuckled. "No need; it was my fault after all."

He introduced himself as Almodaeus, Almo for short. He was a monk turned explorer who was traveling the Eastern Lands at the moment. Witnessing several strange and horrifying things, he'd immediately initiated the meditation.

"Fascinating! So, the rulers of the Eastern Lands are called emperors?" Sin asked, fascinated.

"It was bizarre for me when I first landed, too," Almo admitted. "I got used to it eventually. The people there are much friendlier than ours seem to be and their currency is yin, not our copper, silver, and gold coins."

"Did you meet their ruler, the emperor?" asked Sin. Never having set foot off of Mandar in many years, and only just traveling through Gielinor, he was intrigued by the foreign Eastern Lands.

He wanted to know what the ruler was like, how they dressed, what they ate, what type of animals they had, and how they lived. Sin knew this was why he had to meditate, so he could meet Almo.

"Yes, after a few years of getting to know the locals, I was invited to have dinner with their emperor."

"What do they wear?" Sin asked impatiently.

Almo laughed at his companion's thirst for knowledge. "I will get to that, my friend. The dinner that was served, it was very lavish! I had never seen so much food in my entire life, let alone food I'd never heard of. My favorite was something called a rice ball. It is this tiny ball of rice packed tightly together. It very scrumptious, and very nutritious."

"To them, dinner is a formal event, so I was given special clothes to wear. They're called kimonos; think of them like robes. Another strange thing is that they don't sit on chairs, but cushions. When entering their houses, you must also remove your shoes and go barefoot."

"These Easterners seem very eccentric," Sin said truthfully. "Please, tell me more."

"Now let me share with you some of the exotic animals I met while traveling there. The first creature I came across resembled a bear, but shorter and tinier, like a cub. Its fur was black and white, and it mostly ate the leaves of trees. The locals call it a panda."

"One creature that we both have, but is strangely different, is the dragon. While Gielinor dragons are massive and stocky, the Eastern Land dragons are long and slender. I'm told they're known as komodo dragons."

"Intriguing," Sin interrupted. "Did many of these komodo dragons exist?"

"There are thousands compared to our local dragons. However, that was not the strangest animal I encountered on my journey. While crossing over some rough mountains, I happened upon a creature that looks just like a tiny monkey, but is actually called a Languar. I was so captivated by it I brought one with me when I returned to the coastal city of Monto."

Fascinated by Almo's tale of this other world, Sin listened enraptured for hours. Not like time meant anything in _spirigo_.

"And that's about it."

"Wow, I would love to see the Eastern Lands for myself one day," Sin said with amazement.

"I hope you do, because it is such a wonderful and beautiful place," Almo said. "Yet it has its dangers as well."

Intrigued, Sin said, "Tell me of these dangers, friend."

"You heard me speak of the emperor's hospitality, now listen as I warn you of his violent nature. While I was staying at his palace, a servant brought him tea. The tea, though, was not what the emperor had asked for. So, throwing the wildest tantrum I've ever witnessed, he commanded the guards to throw the man into the palace dungeons to be locked away for 80 years. For bringing him the wrong tea! I have heard of some short tempers, but the emperor's is the shortest."

"The next day the emperor discovered that the guards had been letting this man's family visit him. Well, as you can imagine, this did not sit right with the emperor. He had the guards hanged and the family was thrown into jail as well. The emperor had said, 'If you want to visit your husband so much, then it is better that you serve his sentence, too.'"

"By that time I was very angry with the emperor, so I confronted him and aired my grievances with him. Now, by now you should understand my mistake. The emperor was seething with rage and ordered the guards to burn me at the stake. My only option was to flee the land as fast as possible, back to neutral territory."

"The guards never stopped chasing me, however, and I was on the run for many months until I found an abandoned temple out in the Huangbo mountains. There I found hundreds of ancient scrolls which identified the temple as the Wanfu Temple."

"What did you do next, Almo?" Sin asked worriedly.

"The only thing I could," Almo said. "I read scrolls all day. Eventually I remembered the meditation technique that most monks know by heart, so I gathered up all the material I needed, and here I am."

Sin and Almo parted ways soon after. The latter needed to get back to his mortal body to find a way out of the Huangbo mountains and back to Gielinor.

They promised each other that one day they would meet in person.


	7. Chapter 7

Sin's weeklong meditation was almost up, and he would soon be returning to Valor and to his mortal body. He reluctantly would do this, for he had grown used to _meditigo_ and wished to stay there forever.

Over the course of his stay here, he had met dozens of interesting and bizarre spirits, people who had also sought meditation. Sadly he had not run into Almo a second time, so he would strive to look for his spirit friend when he returned to his body.

After he unearthed his father's whereabouts.

To return to one's body was simpler than the ritual that allowed someone to go to _meditigo_. You merely thought it, and it happened. Much simpler.

Taking in the spirit world one last time, Sin began to head home. Until a profound voice echoed from nowhere. "Sin."

A glowing figure descended from the clouds, slowing lowering itself to Sin's position. He shielded his eyes and tried vigorously to make out the mysterious figure.

Again the shining figure called out his name, beckoning him. Sin, with a start, realized just who it was: It was his god, Mandarin!

Sin threw his corporeal form to the ground, desperately trying to make himself smaller. He heard the footsteps of Mandarin drawing closer. What had he done to draw the attention of his lord?

"Rise, my son," Mandarin said.

Sin drew himself up, but kept his eyes respectively lowered. "Yes, my lord."

"Do not fear me, Sin," he started. "I am not here to punish you, but to ask you a favor."

Sin gasped. "A favor? I am not worthy!" He fell to his knees at his master's feet.

Mandarin burst out into a laugh that sounded like a thousand choirs harmonizing. He placed a hand on Sin's shoulder and bade he rise. "You are worthy, Sin. For a god to visit you, you must realize this."

Tears welled up in Sin's eyes. "You do me great honor, my lord."

His god wiped the tears from Sin's eyes. "Cry not, my son, because I have a tremendous task set for you."

"A task?"

"Your world has survived many dangers, but there is a storm coming that threatens to eradicate this realm. I have seen that you've met the resident time wizard. And I have also seen that he's tasked you with preventing the fox boy from contacting the boy called Solo. But know this, my son, do not do this."

"Why not?" Sin was deeply confused. He had been suspicious of Artus, but what should he do now?

"Artus does want to fix the time rip, but he wishes to rewrite time with him as its master. And if the fox does not contact Solo, all you know will be destroyed."

"What would you have me do, then?" Sin asked.

"I will send you to where Solo's friend Dream is fighting. He will not win without you, though the fight will not be written as a win. When you show up, Artus will follow and save his investment.

"As you wish, my lord," Sin said with a proud smile.

"If you do this, I will reward you with a lofty position among earthlings." Mandarin kissed Sin on the forehead, then said, "I wish you great success, my son." Finished, Mandarin ascended back into the clouds, leaving Sin glowing with pride that his god had personally visited him.

Sin had a new mission in life. Though he would need to place aside his search for his father, he did not feel any regret. He was personally assisting his lord!

A booming sound behind him made him spin around. A purple portal had came into existence just behind him. Mandarin must have opened it for him, so that it would take him to his destination. He glanced down and saw that he held a steel scimitar in his clenched hand.

He whispered a quick prayer and leapt into the portal.

Sweat glistened on Dream's face as he sprinted for the Varrock Medic Center where he knew he could find help. Seeing Solo lying there had frightened Dream more than he would like to admit.

The pavement flew under him as he raced on. Suddenly, the ground was coming up to meet his face. Dream's face slammed into the concrete, rattling his skull painfully. "Dang it!" he muttered crossly. His hand automatically went to his forehead where he felt something wet and warm.

"I'm bleeding?" he gasped.

A guttural voice above him chuckled warmly. "You'll be doing more of that soon, brat." A foot slammed into Dream's ribs. He scrunched into a ball, gasping for breath. Shortly after, another kick came, sending Dream crawling away for safety.

The attacker grabbed a fistful of Dream's hair and yanked him to his feet, a sob escaping from Dream. Forcing the boy's chin up, the attacker's next words were spat out, "I want you to know the face of your killer when you die, begging for mercy!"

Dream took in the attacker. He had shiny black hair, wore a tight T-shirt, and rubber pants which were black, and knee-high black boots. Attached to his hip was a chain and at the end was a nasty looking rusty hook.

Dream choked back a cry when the tall, thin, and muscular man delivered a blow to his stomach. "W-who are you?" Dream stammered. "What do you want from me?"

Sneering, the man answered. "You can call me Boneripper, because that's what I'm going to be doing to you after I crack your skull open! And I'm here to gauge you for some delicate information, as in where your buddy Solo is."

Tears flowing down his cheeks, Dream stared defiantly back at Boneripper. "I'd never betray his trust like that, you pig!"

Boneripper, smiling evilly, reared back and slammed his head into Dream's. The force sent him reeling backwards, trying to regain some balance. Boneripper followed this up with several well placed jabs to Dream's torso and face.

Dream took this beating for a full minute before collapsing, coughing up blood. He slowly reached for the sword he brought with him, only for it to be wrenched from his grasp, then flung far away.

Shaking his head in mock wonder, Boneripper said, "Why even bother, toad? It's not like you'll defeat me, the greatest assassin in the Black Arm gang!"

A boy stepped out from the shadow of a nearby building. He held a steel scimitar in his right hand and looked competent enough to handle it. He jerked his head about as if looking for someone or something. His eyes were suddenly drawn to Dream's plight and he rushed in.

Boneripper lashed out backwards with his foot, catching the new boy in the pelvis. He moaned in pain and fell to his knees. Doing a complete spin, the assassin roundhouse kicked the boy sharply in the head. "I don't know who you are kid, but you just signed your death warrant."

The hit man grabbed the boy by the scruff of his collar and threw him beside Dream. He hit the ground with a thump, causing him to cry out in pain as he had sprained his ankle.

Dream leaned over and whispered, "Thanks for coming to help me, stranger, even if it wasn't successful." Dream's lip stretched into a small smile. "My name is Dream Dehcay."

The boy smiled back and responded, "I'm Sin."

Boneripper stomped hard on Dream's stomach; he cried out. "No talking, little brats. You're going to need all the breath you have when begging me to kill you quickly."

Dream lay still and unmoving as his foe taunted him over and over. He could not cave or Boneripper would realize he had no fun left and would kill him. The boy did not know why the stranger called Sin had come to his aid, and he did not care.

Boneripper's smile curved up into a snarl. "What's wrong, no more sniveling from the babies?"

Dream noticed Sin fidget, but when he glanced over, Sin had launched to his feet. He swung his sword like a skilled warrior, making a pass at Boneripper's vulnerable areas. The large man dodged to the left, narrowly avoiding the sword. Sin struck again, and Boneripper ducked out of the way.

Sin became agitated, if only slightly. He knew this went against everything he stood for. He wasn't one to rush into something this rash, but here he was. He needed to strike without anger; his god commanded him to do so.

He dashed forward, sure that Boneripper had finally left an opening, but the assassin was faking. He grabbed the boy by his hair and slammed him face first into the nearest wall.

"Do that again, boy, and I will cave your skull in!" Boneripper growled, loud enough for a walking pedestrian to hear and scurry away.

"You do not scare me, Boneripper," said Sin calmly. "My god will protect me."

Outraged, Boneripper slammed the boy's head one last time into the brick wall and tossed him aside as if he were a rag doll. His hands went for his chain, Sin's religious comments obviously bothering him. Boneripper swung the chain a few times to demonstrate his no doubt excellence ability and arched it at Dream.

Dream closed his eyes in terror, waiting nervously to feel the rusty hook pierce his soft skin and entice blood-it never came. Opening his eyes, he thought he could see Boneripper just standing there.

Sin, pushing himself to a sitting position, gazed at the still form of their would-be assassin.

Wiping a bead of sweat that had formed on his forehead, Dream asked, "Sin, what's going on?"

"You needn't be confused my dear boy, I shan't harm you." A shadowy figure, his form eclipsed by the morning sun, stood atop a building adjacent to the street. Having caught their attention, he leapt from his perch, landing on his feet.

Dream took in the newcomer's appearance. The man had neck length black hair with virgin white tips. Two things stuck out about him: he had dull, charcoal blue eyes and his outfit screamed Al Kharid make. His shirt was beige with red, long sleeves. The pants he wore were the typical baggy white the Al Kharids were accustomed to, except his had black trimmings. The overkill was the red cape flapping along with the wind tied off at his neck.

"Artus!" Sin whispered below his breath, though loud enough for Dream to hear.

"Why did you save us?" Dream asked warily, eyeing the strange giant wheels attached to the man's hips. "And if I may, what are those?"

The man smiled, though it did not reach his eyes. "These are my weapons. The one on my left is called _Piroe_ and the right one is _Ayro_. They're specifically attuned to my magic and can return when I send out the thought. I can also use them for melee; see the center? Don't they look like two Z's intertwined? Well, at the end of each leg is a tiny blade that I can bring out with the push of a certain button."

Dream was unimpressed with the obvious attempt at bragging. Dream steered the conversation back to the man's motives. "Humph, but why did you save us, uh?"

The man turned to face Dream, his face no longer holding a warm smile. "Artus Sorrai is the name. I really didn't mean to save you; I could care less about your life. I was merely executing an experiment of sorts for the benefit of our mutual friend there." Pointing at Sin, Artus spun to leave, whipping his cape behind him with an air of superiority. "I will take my leave, but I have some advice for you. If you do not want to be killed by this here ruffian, then I suggest you take your leave as well."

Artus snapped his fingers and vanished from sight. Seeing that the spell would be broken soon, Dream retrieved his sword, and both him and Sin took off.

Panting from their running excursion, Dream and Sin rested under the awning of a store. Dream wiped sweat from his face with the back of his hand, rubbing it on his pants. For it to be so cold outside, they sure could build up a sweat.

"What did you think of that Artus Sorrai, Sin?" Dream slowly said, gasping for breath at every other word. "He seemed strange, a bit off if you get my meaning."

Sin had obviously regained his composure faster and was acting like he hadn't almost been killed. "He is a dangerous man, Dream. Please stay away from him."

Dream considered that. He wondered if Artus and Sin had some connection with Kuro Ryu. But he realized he was just being paranoid.

He cleared his throat and told Sin that he was needed elsewhere, but if he needed anything to just call on him at the Varrock Hotel. Sin nodded and mumbled something about meditation or _kaogukai_.

Clearly believing something bad had happened to Solo, Dream forgot about getting a doctor or mage and ran back to the hotel.

Sin waited until Dream had completely turned the corner. When he was certain Dream was far enough away, he shuttered and slumped to the ground. In all his days training with the monks, he had never faced quite an opponent like this Boneripper.

He had been so agile, rivaling that of the most agile feline. Boneripper's weapon of choice, his chain-and-hook, was one of the most deadliest weapons Sin had ever seen.

Again he offered up a prayer to Mandarin, for giving him the strength and skill to persevere. As he continued his minute-long prayer of thanks, his thoughts eventually drifted back to the time wizard.

Sorrai had approached him with the bold-faced lie of wanting to save the timeline. If it hadn't been for Mandarin, he would have helped the man. Luckily his god had revealed the truth to him.

Dusting himself off, Sin stood up and walked down the street, blending in with the common folk. It felt almost peaceful and serene to become one with the crowd, to be but one person in a crowd of many.

To have no identity.


End file.
